Bourne Cemetery was established in 1855 and consecrated in March, 1856. At that time, all the other burial grounds in the parish were closed for future burials. The cemetery had two mortuary chapels. The cemetery is on Thurlby Road (South Road).

The Cemetery was extended in 1904 to 5.5 acres.

The Cemetery was under the control of the Burial Board of the Urban Council. It is now managed by the Bourne Town Council.

Tim HEATON has a photograph of Bourne Cemetery on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2009.

The National Burial Index (NBI) lists 8,287 entries (1855-1995) for Bourne cemetery and another 4,238 entries (1813-1900, with duplicates) for St. Peter and St. Paul church.

The Lincolnshire FHS has published several marriage and a burial index for the Aveland and Ness Deanery to make your search easier.

The Baptists chapel was built on West Street in 1835 and could seat 500.

Tim HEATON has a photograph of the Baptist Chapel on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2009.

The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel on Star Lane in 1841 that could also seat 500.

The Independent Methodists built a chapel in 1847, a year after the Congregationalists buit their chapel in Eastgate. For more on researching these chapel records, see our non-conformist religions page. Also, there is more on local churchs at the Bourne in Words and Pictures site. John Bland suggests that you "follow the link from Churches in Bourne on the Home page and you will find the Baptist Church."

There was also a Baptist chapel, built in 1878, in the hamlet of Dyke, along with a small Wesleyan chapel.

Bourne is both a town and a parish 97 miles north of London, 10 miles NNE of Stamford and 11 miles west of Spalding. It is bisected by the A15 trunk road, formerly known as the "Great Road from London to Lincoln," and part of the old Roman Road between the two cities. Bourne parish includes the hamlets of Cawthorpe and Dyke. Morton parish lies to the north and Thurlby parish to the south, with Deeping Fen parish forming the southeast border. The South Forty Foot Drain completes the eastern border. The parish covers 10,100 acres and includes the hamlet of Cawthorpe 1.5 miles north of Bourne and Dyke, 1.5 miles northeast.

A spring called "Peter's Pool" arises in the west end of the town and at Eastgate becomes navigable (where it is called the "Bourne Eau") and flows southward to join the River Glen. If you are planning a visit:

The Bourne Rural District Council Isolation Hospital was built in 1913 on South road to replace an earlier hospital on Manor lane. It was still operational in 1930. There was no requirement for archiving patient records. Miss Alice Mary MacKENZIE was the matron in 1930.

The Butterfield Cottage Hospital was at 2 North road. The Bourne Nursing Association started out in 1899 and was merged into the Butterfield Cottage Hospital after the death of Mr. Butterfield. It also started in 1913 with two wards of 4 beds each, but was enlarged as a war memorial shortly after World War One. It was still operational in 1942, but closed in 1983. No patient records exist. Miss Marion PILE, born Wiltshire, was the matron in 1913. Miss Florence OSBORN was the matron in 1930.

There is a photograph of Butterfield Cottage Hospital in 1910 at Flickr taken by Peter MALECZEK.

Percy James VICKERS, who was born here about 1895, is believed to be the same Lance Corporal P. J. VICKERS who was wounded at Suvla Bay in the Dardenelles Campaign in 1915. He was in the 6th Battn. Lincolnshire Regt. Here is a poem he wrote.

The Bourne Cenotaph shows WW1 and WW2 casualties (and a few from later conflicts) although no numbers, ranks or arms of service are mentioned. They are listed here as recorded by Michael PECK (The lists have been sorted to make searching easier and may not match the order on the cenotaph - LRM):

1914 - 1918:

H Allen

F N Andrews

A Ash

F Baldock

H Baldock

P Barsby

A Bates

C H Baxter

R Benstead

J V Bosley

W Bray

H Brightman

G A Brooks

J Brown

S Brown

J Burt

J A Carter

E Carvath

A Chambers

J A Clare

H Clark

A E Clark

J E Clark

H P Cleary

W E Close

W Cook

L Cooper

G Coverley

C R Creek

A E Cursley

H Fortesque

C A Green

E Grummitt

J T Haines

J Hare

G A Holland

C Hornsey

J C Hudson

S Jackson

H L Joyce

F J Keal

B Kettle

S Kettle

T Knowles

A W Lane

H Lane

F Larkinson

C Leary

F Lloyd

L Lloyd

G Lunn

W Lunn

G Marvin

A Mason

W S Michelson

C Mills

J Morton

F Needham

W Needham

F North

W A Oakden

R Osborn

C E Osgathorpe

E Parker

R Parker

J Parry

R Pattison

H Pearce

H Pridmore

H C Reeves

T B Rhodes

G H Rix

E Robinson

G Rouse

F Scotney

G Sherwin

J J Smith

J H Smith

F J N Smith

R Smithson

J Stevenson

P E Stevenson

F Stubley

E Stubley

G Tabor

H W Teat

A Thompson

A Thorton

W Thopson

W M Toulson

E P Wass

F E H Wass

W C F Watts

A Watson

W Watson

G A Woodward

E Wyles

1939 - 1945:

J Brightman

C Bryant

J Clay

R H Cook

R J Cross

R C Dewey

R J Gable

C Girling

J Green

C A Green

B J Katoff

E E Lockton

H J E Mason

C E Michelson

D Milner

C H Nield

W A Northern

F J Pattison

W Pont

L Riley

W H Riley

A J Rout

R J Sayer

C R Schofield

H Showell

G A Sibley

W A Smith

F R Sones

R G Squires

D Steel

R Waller

D J Webb

Malaya 1957:

W Dodd

Borneo 1962:

R Jennings

Northern Ireland 1975:

J R Booth

The following 15 Commonwealth War Graves are in Bourne Cemetery. 8 are from World War I:

The name Bourne (often spelled "Bourn") is from the Old English Burna or Old Scandinavian Brunnr, for "spring", appearing in the 1086 Domesday Book as Brune.A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991.

According to Pigot, there is a perennial spring "from which the town derives its name, Bourne being the Saxon word for brook". Pigot goes on to give the source of the spring as being the village of Stoke, some 16 miles away. He quotes an old manuscript as refering to the spring as "Peter's Pool." The waters from the spring ultimately join the River Glen, flowing southward toward Market Deeping."Directory of Lincolnshire" Pigot & Co., 1841.

Bastardy cases were heard in the Bourne petty session hearings held at the Town Hall, or Session House, on Mondays.

An Almshouse was founded in 1636 by Wm. TROLLOPE to house six poor and aged men. The almshouse was built next to the churchyard. His fund granted £30 per year for repairing the buildings and for fuel and clothing.

The Common Lands were enclosed here in 1770.

A second Almshouse to house six poor women was built before 1889.

In 1655, Robert HARRINGTON bequeathed a yearly rent-charge from Witham-on-the-hill for weekly distribution of bread among the poor.

As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became the center of the Bourne Poor Law Union.